1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of dental apparatus, and more particularly relates to a dental articulator which is relatively simple to manufacture and use.
2. Description of the Related Art
A dental articulator positions dental models such as castings of upper and lower jaws of a patient to permit a dentist to fabricate a dental prosthesis such as a denture outside the patient's mouth. In order to permit the dentist to fabricate a comfortable prosthesis, the geometry of the patient's mouth must be reproduced with a high degree of accuracy. Among the degrees of freedom which must be reproduced are the vertical bite, any lateral or protrusive misalignments of the maxilla (upper jaw) and mandible (lower jaw), and the inclinations of the maxilla and mandible relative to an axis passing through the condyles when the mouth is closed.
On the other hand, the articulator must be inexpensive to manufacture and simple to use so that the prosthesis may be produced efficiently. One technique for securing dental castings to articulators is to adhere the castings to plates using plaster of paris or the like. Not only is this technique expensive, time consuming and dirty, but it is difficult to remove and then accurately reinstall the castings on the plates if the dentist must interrupt work on one prosthesis to work on another. Various clamping systems have been proposed for mounting dental castings in articulators, but these have tended to be complicated and expensive. There remains a need in the art for a dental articulator which permits dental models to be quickly, easily and accurately installed, removed and, if necessary, reinstalled.